"The board and I had different strategic visions and over the course of a year, going back and forth, we just decided it would be better if we went our own ways," Fafard said. "It was a very amicable departure. I certainly don't regret the contributions I made there. But they just felt they really wanted to go in a different direction from a strategic point of view. That is really the essence of it."

Scofield, who was hired by Fafard in 2016, also has no regrets.

"I was very closely aligned with the direction that Bruce was going so it (resignation) made sense," Scofield said. "I am highly supportive of the credit union and hope they have great success."

Fafard said he and the credit union parted the "best of friends."

"I've got a tremendous amount of respect for that institution and the people who work there," he said. 

Paul Blackstone, 121 Financial's interim COO, confirmed that the board decided to take a different strategic direction and praised Fafard and Scofield for their work.

"It's been a good partnership over the last several years," Blackstone said. "They've done a lot of great things with us and continue to be supportive and helpful. They are very much part of the credit union movement and we wish them the very best. 

Fafard and Scofield said they would like to pursue future career opportunities within the industry.

"I love this industry. I'm not ready to move out of it," Fafard said. "I worked for some of the Fortune 100 companies —- IBM, AETNA Life and Casualty, United Technologies — and the reason I got involved in the industry was because of the social message that we have — people helping people —- not really chasing the quarterly filings and briefings for Wall Street." 

Before joining 121 Financial in May 2015, he served as president/CEO of the $265 million Scient Federal Credit Union in Groton, Conn. for more than eight years.